A couples attempt at self-sufficiency and starting a business on a Greek Island. http://www.Aretecrete.com

Earlier this year we were contacted by an Alexander Garret, who writes for the Primelocation.com website.

This is the article he wrote about us……

In our garden.

In 2002, Helen Johnstone and her husband Sean wanted to buy a smallholding and live off the land in the style of the 1970s TV sitcom The Good Life. “I was originally from Wales and when I was growing up my parents were semi self-sufficient, keeping their own chickens and growing lots of vegetables,” says Helen. The couple were living in Chippenham at the time, where Helen worked as a finance manager, Sean as a tree surgeon. She continues: “We looked at various smallholdings in the UK, but any property with land was simply too expensive.”

The couple’s attention turned to Crete, where they had been for a holiday in 1998. They returned in 2002 and were shown a one-acre plot of land on the edge of a village in western Crete. “It was very reasonably priced at the time and we had the money from some property renovating that we had been doing in our spare time. So we decided to buy,” says Helen.

Crete struck them as the perfect place to realise their dream: both liked being in the sun, it had an ideal climate for growing fruit and vegetables, and they found the Cretan people extremely friendly and hospitable.

But this is not a couple inclined to take life-changing steps on a sudden whim or impulse. Before making their move Helen and Sean resolved to research every aspect of their new life in detail and to make every preparation that could help them once they arrived in Crete. The couple spent two and a half years getting ready for their move, during which time they designed the house they were going to build, researched the weather, the healthcare system and other aspects of life in Crete, and Helen enrolled on a Greek language course at Bath University.

They were also meticulous in planning their finances. “The design for the house incorporated two holiday flats which we would let out; in addition to that we had a small pension of Sean’s to support us, and while our intention was to be largely self-sufficient, we managed to put enough money aside to support us for up to five years without earning a penny,” says Helen.

When it came to budgeting for building the house – for which they had conscripted a “fantastic” local engineer – they took the top range of estimates, then added ten per cent, then added a further 20 per cent contingency on top of the total to ensure that they would have adequate provision.

At the end of May 2005, with their house in Chippenham sold and their worldly goods packed into a container in storage, they set out for Crete, driving their Land Rover overland via Ancona in Italy, complete with their dog Bronwen on-board.

From June to the end of September, they lived in a caravan on a nearby olive grove while the build got underway; as soon as a concrete shell was ready, they moved into a tent in the basement. “We were having cold showers until the end of November, but it was important we were there on site so we could ensure we were getting everything we wanted,” says Helen.

The careful planning paid off and the house was built on time and on budget. One of the lessons Helen and Sean’s experience offers is the benefit of getting to know your neighbours. During the days while building was taking place they would retire to the local kafeneion in the village, where they soon met most of the villagers, who were intrigued to know about the British couple with their self-sufficiency plan. It paid dividends; when they were still waiting for electricity to be connected, someone in the village managed to swing it for a single plug point to be connected up. They learned from their neighbours a good deal about local horticulture, and discovered that the most efficient way to heat their house during the cool winters was to install a furnace that would burn the residue from olive oil production. “It cost us only €35 last winter,” says Helen.

As to their aspiration to live off the land, Helen and Sean grow a wide range of vegetables, including tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, pak choi, swiss chard, courgettes and aubergines, and harvest other such as asparagus and capers which grow wild. They also produce 200 litres of organic extra virgin olive oil each year and have two bee hives, which supply 10kgs to 15kgs of honey.

They keep chicken and geese and obtain many of their remaining grocery and other needs through bartering with neighbours. Helen pays for an hour’s Greek language tuition each week with ten eggs, while Sean does some tree surgery in return for the wood, which they burn. And to cap it all, they’ve just invested in a small fishing boat.

While other Brits often gravitate towards an expat enclave, build swimming pools and have high running costs, Helen and Sean’s move is geared around them becoming part of the community. And for that reason, like their lifestyle, it has proved sustainable.

Alexander Garrett is a freelance property writer who contributes regularly to The Observer and British Airways’ Business Life.